What's New?

Sorry it has been so long since a blog update. It seems as though we have misplaced our battery charger for the camera, therefore we don't have any recent pictures to share. We have been doing lots of fun things. We have spent lots of time outside on the sunny days. We played in the park and walked to McClurg (the University dining hall) with some friends for dinner. We have picked oodles of daffodils and even some tiny little purple flowers, too. Tucker has been doing great with his potty training! Very rarely does he wear anything other than big boy undies, except at night.

Last week I took the kids to the Creative Discovery Children's Museum in Chattanooga. We were there for almost 4 hours! The kids played so well and didn't want to leave. Caroline was playing in the boat and another little girl joined in. Caroline didn't bother to ask her name, as she just started calling her "best friend." Meanwhile, Tucker frequently called other random children "bad guy!" to their face.

Caroline and Tucker spend a good bit of time trying to get under each other's skin. Tucker prefers to call Caroline a "bad guy" which really gets to her 90% of the time. Every now and then she will surprise us with "Tucker, I'm not a bad guy...hahaha." Tucker has taken a liking to the UPS truck and points it out every time we see one. He likes to then say "I drive UPS truck." Promptly Caroline replies with "No, I drive the UPS truck." And the fight begins. So much fun!

Tuck still loves his trains. Last night he went to bed with 8 (yes, 8!) trains. Usually he just wants Diesel, but last night he needed them all. Before he goes to bed we have to say:

Night, night fire truck,

Night, night bus,

Night, night choo choo train,

Night, night us :)

He has pictures of all these things on his wall and looks at each one of them as we say our night, nights. I'll give Tucker a kiss and then he insists that I give Diesel a kiss, too. Never thought I'd be kissing a Thomas the Train figure good night...the things you do for your kids!

Caroline has been into her babies and being the Mommy. When the weather is nice she strolls her babies around and around our back yard. She also insists on watching Hannah Montana or "Hannah Hannah" as Tucker calls it. She can be such a girly girl! But, she never misses an opportunity to play with the boys (mostly older ones) or dig in the dirt. She and Tucker spent some time today digging and playing with rocks. In true Caroline fashion, she came running to me and said "Mommy, but my hands are dirty!" And once I told her that is usually what happens when you play with dirt she was OK.

Hopefully we will locate the camera charger soon. I don't want to miss out on Easter pictures next weekend.

Lake Cheston

Yesterday we went to Lake Cheston for a picnic. (I don't have any pictures because we were recharging the camera battery.) We had some lunch and got the kite up in the air for a few minutes. Chad took the fishing poles and the kids found worms. Despite many attempts to catch some fish, it just didn't happen. We walked on the trail around the lake and tried several different spots as Caroline really wanted to see a fish.

Towards the end of the trail there is a beach area. Basically it is some imported sand and a shallow area for swimming in the lake. Caroline and Tucker started screaming "beach, beach!" We stopped and they stripped down. Caroline's pants were off and her feet were in the water in no time. Of course Tuck wanted the same thing, he just needed a little help. They did a good job of staying in the shallow water and not going in above their knees. But, then the splashing began and Tucker fell and they were WET!!! I stripped them both down to their shoes and we walked back to the car. Neither of them had undies on for the ride home, just dry pants and jackets. This is really when I wished that I had the camera. It was a sight!

Nashville Zoo

On Friday we went to the Nashville Zoo with some friends. It was a gorgeous day and apparently all of Nashville thought so, too. There were a ton of people (and strollers) at the zoo! The kids enjoyed seeing the monkeys, giraffes, elephants, zebras, alligators, and a variety of frogs, snakes, and fish. We also rode on the carousel which just might have been the best part for the kids. Caroline rode on a kangaroo and Tucker rode on the Cheetah. Thankfully they were side by side so I could stand in the middle. Tucker had a few minutes of "I scared" but then smiled the rest of the ride! We ended the day with some play time in the "Jungle Gym" and some ice cream. It was a good day for all!

Daffodil Farm

Today we went to the Daffodil Farm. It is about 15 minutes down the mountain and definitely worth the trip! Next to a small cabin-like house there is a field filled with daffodils. It is deep in the valley with mountains in every direction. If you are quiet you can hear the cars and trucks on the interstate and if you look really hard you can see the 18 wheelers passing by in the distance. You are free to pick your own daffodils, as many as you want. They are 2 cents each and you put your money in a lockbox at the end of the driveway. They also have bunches of daffodils that have already been picked for $1 a bunch. Caroline and Tucker each picked a beautiful bouquet of flowers. Even though we have a plentiful supply of daffodils in our own yard, some how it is more fun to go pick them in a field of daffodils.

"Taco"="Tucker"

We had a nice sunny Spring day while we were in Huntington so Chad and I took the kids to Ritter Park. The kids were really enjoying the new-to-them playground. Another little boy joined in and started to play with them. He nicely asked our names so we told him. A few minutes later he was trying to get Tucker's attention and said "Tuh-coor." At that moment Caroline looked at him, got right in his face and pointed her finger. She said in her sternest voice "That's my brudder. Don't call him a taco!" I guess she thought he was saying "taco" when he was really just doing his best to say "Tucker." Poor kid didn't say it again!

Mayfield Dairy Farm

On the way to West Virginia for Spring Break we made a pit stop at the Mayfield Dairy Farm. It is just north of Chattanooga and we have passed it many times. I have always wanted to stop. I was looking forward to the tour, while the others just wanted the ice cream! Before we went on the tour, we had to put on these red hair nets. (Thankfully there are no pictures of me with the hair net on.) We saw where the milk jugs are made and where/how they fill them with the milk. Our favorite part was seeing the ice cream wing. We saw tons of containers being filled with chocolate ice cream. Of course we had to have some ice cream once it was over. Caroline had chocolate ice cream and Tucker and I shared the Rocky Road. It was so good! Unfortunately, Mayfield only ships their products to stores nearby the factories. So while we can get a good supply of Mayfield products here in Sewanee, it is unlikely that they will be available when we move. Looks like we will need to eat plenty of ice cream between now and then to get our fill!

Outta Bed

Tucker has been in his big boy bed for about a week now. Last night I heard him cry and I went in his room and found him on the floor. I picked him up and put him back in his bed and put a pillow on the floor where he "fell out" of his bed. This morning I glanced in his room and did not see Tucker in bed. I knew he had not gotten up already and my heart stopped beating for about 3 seconds when I didn't see him in his bed. I walked in the room and saw him on the floor with his head on a pile of Chad's clothes that had not yet been put away. He was sound asleep. I took these pictures and called Chad in to look at him. At this time he started to move and look around and wonder why he was on the floor. I am not sure what more we can do to keep him in his bed and off the floor...any ideas?

March 7th

As I looked back at the blog postings from March 2009, I noticed that it was exactly a year ago that we "hiked" Fiery Gizzard. Look at how much the kids have changed!

MARCH 7, 2010

MARCH 7, 2009

First Hike

Here are some pictures of our first "official" hike on a trail. While we have been out exploring before, we have not taken the kids on a real hiking trail. We found a fairly easy path that was probably as flat as it gets out here. We did come across some amazing views and several streams. The kids loved walking over the bridges and throwing sticks into stream.

Some highlights of this adventure include:

~Caroline insisting on being the line leader at all times

~Tucker stepping in the shallow stream intentionally and getting his right foot wet

~Finding lots of good walking sticks

~Learning about moss and bark

~Seeing the beautiful icicles on the shady side of the mountain

~Tucker saying "I'm too big" when he really meant that he was too small and wanted to be carried

Sleepy Naked Boy

Tucker did not nap today. This does not happen very often, but it just did not fit into our plans for the day. It was either park for the kids and some errands, or Tucker takes a nap. We all agreed (even Tuck) that the park was a better idea. When he does skip a nap he is tired and ready for bed around 6:30. Tonight was no exception. Chad let him lay on our bed and watch a few minutes of Thomas before bed. He fell asleep shortly after the movie started, but not before he took his diaper off. Chad put a diaper on him to be extra safe since he was on our bed and we knew he would probably fall asleep. I was actually glad to see that he did not like wearing a diaper. This is good news to me since he is potty training. I am ready (and apparently he is too) for him to be out of diapers.

Sun and Swings

We finally had a sunny day and spent some time at the park. The kids enjoyed the swings, as most of the slides were still wet from the melted snow. After the park, we rode out to the stables to see if the horses had their jackets on, dropped the plastics off at the recycling bin and made a quick trip to the "Pig Store" for some last minute dinner needs. Sure hope tomorrow is sunny, too!

Wrestling Video

Wrestling

The kids spent a good bit of this afternoon wrestling. They actually did really well and no one cried or got hurt. It was nice to watch them giggle and play and just have so much fun! They were all smiles:)

CPK & TCK

Tucker was so tempted to pick up the drill ... as you probably guessed, he did!

Caroline spent some time riding her bike on the front porch. She picked out her outfit. It matched "because all the colors match."

Going on a Trip

Caroline: Mommy, Tucker and me are going on a trip.

Mommy: You mean, Tucker and 'I' are going on a trip.

Caroline: No, you're not going. Tucker and me are going.

Tucker: Bye Mommy!

...and they're gone...

Big Boy

Is there anything cuter than a little boy in a white t-shirt and boxer briefs? Not in this house there isn't. I guess you could say that we are officially in potty training mode with Tuck. He has done well, however this is completely different than my experience with Caroline. He has some Thomas the Train undies (aka Thomas panties) that he really likes. But when I saw these mini boxer briefs in Target I had to get them. He likes them because there are basketballs and soccer balls on the waistband.

Also, you can see in the background that there is now a toddler bed where his crib used to be. Caroline has been sleeping in the twin bed for a while now, so we decided it was time to pass on her toddler bed to Tucky. He has done really well, as I anticipated he would have a hard time staying in his bed. Fortunately, I was wrong. The morning after his first night in his "big boy bed" Caroline came into our room and said "Mommy, how is Tucker's big boy bed doing this morning?" She was very concerned about how Tucker and the bed would do.

Yesterday during Tucker's nap, I caught her in his room, in his bed with him. She had covered him with pink blankets and put babies next to him. She even brought him a pink pillow. I would have taken a picture but I had to get her out ASAP as I did not want Tuck to wake up. I know it probably would have been a really sweet picture, but it was not worth the risk. And, I was not very happy with her for going in his room while he was napping.

I feel like my baby boy has turned into a big boy overnight. Within about a month's time he has given up his pacifier, crib and now diapers. I am so proud of the little guy for doing such a great job :)

Bad Guy

This may only be funny to me. But, I wanted to share it anyway. A couple days ago I was helping Caroline get cleaned up after she had gone potty. Tucker was there and watching every move. Because he is potty training, I made this a learning moment for him. Caroline was in a very fragile state and he looked at her with a solemn face and nonchalantly said "got poopoo, bad guy." She was livid! Caroline doesn't like to be called "bad guy" (which just so happens to be Tucker's favorite expression) and especially in this situation. I did not laugh in front of them, but I was laughing inside. Maybe this was one of those moments that you had to witness to really get how funny it was...but, trust me, I was there and it was funny!

Chef Caroline

Taking an order...

Waving to the camera...

Putting the cake in the oven...

and voila! C'est finis!

Thomas and Diesel

Tucker has been obsessed with Thomas the Train! He wakes up asking for Diesel (the bad guy) and goes to bed with the promise of watching Diesel again. Today as I was cooking, he played in the kitchen with Thomas and Diesel. This allowed me enough time to make homemade chocolate chip cookies and Shepherd's Pie for dinner. Thank you Thomas and Diesel!

Too Many TuTus?

I think she had on either 4 or 5 tutus.

I am not sure why she added the jacket ... maybe to "complete" the look.

This is what happens when you have on multiple tutus and have to go potty.